Page 90

I left the red ginseng… no, potion that the Mage Duchess had personally bestowed on me in my room and headed toward the clubroom. Today was the vacation ceremony, but why was my destination still the clubroom?

Moreover, it was unbelievable that all the club members were stationed in the clubroom without exception. They seemed to be discussing something fervently, but that sight didn’t look pleasant after being slapped by people similar to them earlier.

As I glared at the members with irritation, my eyes met with an unexpected person.

“Ah, oppa.”

“Irina?”

Irina was awkwardly looking around among the club members. Based on her expression, she didn’t seem to be here because of her own volition.

“You’re here now, oppa?”

Louise turned around and greeted me. Following her, five pairs of eyes turned to me.

“What are you doing here?”

“We were making a schedule. Not all of us will stay in the Academy, so we have to set a time.”

Although being tied to the Academy without being able to return home must be inconvenient, Louise seemed genuinely excited about visiting the Capital. Yes, I was also excited the first time I visited the Capital.

Back then, I didn’t know that the Capital’s darkness ran so deep. I had no idea that the prosperity of the Capital had been built on the blood, sweat, and tears of Civil Servants.

“I have something to say. Everyone, listen.”

Pushing away my bitter feelings, I captured the attention of the members. I had to speak before they got too excited about deciding their accommodation for visiting the Capital.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

‘Of course there is.’

I bit my lips to avoid cursing at Rutis as he asked that question.

That hot-sauce bastard. On his graduation day, I should slap him under the guise of a congratulatory gesture. Even Villar would agree. He might even want to join.

“How about staying in the Capital instead of the Academy?”

“The Capital?”

“Yes.”

Rutis’s eyes widened upon hearing something unexpected. He most likely hadn’t considered staying in the Capital. Of course, neither did I. Who in their right mind would come up with such an idea?

But the Crown Prince did. If I call his name three times, will the Grim Reaper take his soul?

“Won’t it be boring to stay at the Academy? There are many places to see in the Capital, and it’s easy to travel to other cities.”

“It isn’t a bad idea… Although finding accommodation for the holidays might be tough…”

“My house.”

“Yes?”

“You can stay at my mansion.”

Don’t make me repeat it twice. It makes me want to use the gold coins I received from the Crown Prince and cause a meso explosion.

“House? But doesn’t the Patriarch hate having outsiders staying in?”

“Not the family’s residence, but my personal one.”

“You had a personal mansion?”

“Are you two really brothers?”

Tannian’s words left me momentarily speechless. I only used my personal residence for short stays, so there wasn’t much chance to talk about it.

Because of work, I hadn’t been able to visit the main residence in the Tailglehen territory, let alone mention that I owned a property in the Capital.

Still, with my unexpected offer and provision of accommodation, there was a slight delay. But from their perspective, it wasn’t a bad offer; no one opposed it. As long as they weren’t told to leave the Empire, they seemed to be fine with it.

“Louise, I’ll go with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I also haven’t visited the Capital often.”

Amid the chaos, I heard Louise and Irina whisper. I wondered why Irina was here, but it seemed like Louise had persuaded her to come.

Although it was an unexpected guest, the mansion wasn’t so small that it couldn’t handle a few more people. It might even be a relief to have one more normal person among the crazy club members.

‘A sane person, huh…’

Looking at the club members gathered in the room made me realize that the proportion of sane people was dismal. Well, if outsiders were participating, there was no need to limit it to just one, right?

If many students voluntarily stayed at the Academy, some stayed due to personal circumstances. The latter mainly consisted of Student Council members who had work left. And the outsider I was trying to recruit was also part of the Student Council.

— Knock, knock.

“Mar, are you there?”

“Carl? Yes, come in.”

If Louise, Irina, and Marghetta were at the mansion, I could withstand the annoyances of the other hopeless members. And if the members tried to do something strange, Marghetta, who didn’t fall behind in status, would step in and stop them.

“Carl, welcome. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

Marghetta greeted me with a cheerful smile. My determination solidified after seeing her. Now that things had turned out like this, I would also invite her.

“I heard Mar was still working, so I couldn’t sit still. Am I bothering you?”

“No way. I was the one who said you could come anytime, right? I’ve almost finished, so don’t worry.”

She was about to get up from her seat, but I quickly stopped her. Since she still had things left to do, I should just state my business and leave.

“I came because I have a favor to ask of Mar.”

“To me?”

I nodded at her.

“The pastry club has decided to visit the Capital.”

“I heard that. The Capital isn’t close, so it will probably be a lot of work.”

“It’s fine. The Crown Prince has suggested we all stay at my mansion during the holidays, so there won’t be any need to return to the Academy.”

“Yes…?”

Marghetta’s expression hardened.

“Do you mean, all the club members?”

“Yes.”

The corners of her mouth started to tremble. If I hesitate right now, there’s no telling how far Marghetta’s thoughts would wander.

“So I’d like to invite Mar to my mansion as well.”

“What?”

“I owe a lot to Mar, so it would feel empty without you on such a joyous occasion.”

In reality, it wasn’t a joyous event, but having Marghetta in the mansion would be like having an army behind you. This was a truth that cannot be emphasized enough.

And during the last trip, I ended up breaking the promise I made to her. I said I’d visit her room, but never did until the end. Maybe Marghetta might consider it if I said it was an apology.

“Ah, that…”

However, Marghetta’s face turned bright red at the unexpected drift, and she began to stutter.

“Mar?”

I thought she’d calm down if I waited silently. Instead, her hand on the desk started to tremble, too. No, this was a more intense reaction than I expected.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. Yes. I’m okay!”

As I approached Marghetta cautiously and asked, her previously dazed focus returned, and she quickly covered the documents on her desk. Why the documents…? There were some numbers written, but still…

“Mar, my invitation…”

“I-I’ll go, Carl. I’ll definitely go.”

Having received her acceptance, I thanked her and left. I didn’t stay longer as her condition seemed a bit off for a longer conversation.

It was within my expectations that Marghetta would be flustered. After all, I invited her into my mansion for the first time. But even considering that, her reaction was more intense than expected. Did something happen?

* * *

Only after Carl left the Vice President’s office did my trembling hands calm down.

‘The mansion… Carl’s mansion…’

When I heard that the pastry club would stay at Carl’s mansion during the vacation, I felt like the sky would fall. After all, Louise was also among the pastry club members.

I lost the chance to become the first to be embraced by Carl, and now I’m also going to lose the title as the first to stay at his mansion? I can’t allow that. There’s no way another woman could be the first one in our love nest.

However, Carl seemed to share the same sentiment as he had invited me to the mansion, too. It was a bit disappointing that it wasn’t just the two of us, but it was still a first, so it was acceptable.

‘Carl’s mansion.’

I couldn’t help but smile. Louise might be visiting his mansion due to the club activities, but I would be going because I had received his invitation.

Inviting a single lady to his mansion? That must mean Carl has feelings for me too. He didn’t need to be so straightforward about it.

‘I should thank His Highness.’

The Crown Prince, Gilbert Livnoman. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet him until now, and he wasn’t someone I was particularly interested in.

When I heard the club would be staying at Carl’s mansion due to a proposal from the Crown Prince, I felt a bit resentful. However, it ended up becoming an opportunity for me to get invited, and so my resentment melted away.

Releasing a sigh of satisfaction, my gaze drifted to the document I had been covering.

“That was a close call…”

As I removed my hands from the document, the characters and numbers written at the top were revealed.

My name and Carl’s, along with the stroke counts.

I almost got caught with something I shouldn’t have by the person I least wanted to find out.

“Vice President, have you heard of name compatibility?”

The secretary asked me the other day.

‘Why did you make such a comment…?’

Yet I was swayed by such a comment, so I couldn’t blame anyone. But they said that compatibility could be found through such a means. Wasn’t it normal to be curious?

Of course, I believed without a doubt that Carl’s compatibility with me was the best, even without such trivial things. Our relationship was a destiny made by the heavens. Of course, we’re going to have the best compatibility.

—Or so I thought.

‘Why is it 89?’

The number written at the bottom was 89. It was strange even when I looked at it again. Why wasn’t it 100? Shouldn’t it naturally be 100? Is 11% lacking between me and Carl? Lies. As expected, one cannot trust things like this.

To think I was almost caught by Carl while doing this. What would he think of me if he found out?

People in the Ministry of Finance were usually rational, so they didn’t believe in superstitions like this. Some even looked down on those who did.

If Carl was one of those people…

I imagined Carl looking down on me with cold eyes. No, that can’t happen! If Carl despises me, I’ll really die!

My trembling hands started to reach for the document with the name reading, intending to tear it up. I needed to get rid of this cursed thing immediately.

‘Wait, but wasn’t 89 relatively high?’

However, a hint of regret remained, and I couldn’t bring myself to tear it. Of course, it should have resulted in 100. But 89 was high too, right?

After hesitating for a while, I finally decided to keep it without tearing it.